RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31862, 14 December 1968, Page 27

RANDOM REMINDER

LOST PROPERTY

Christmas celebrations—mad, gay affairs are going on all over town, in office and home. Most of them are the product of much anxious planning, some of them need careful budgeting; not many of them get away to the unfortunate start experienced by a well-known resident of Redcliffs. She had walked down to the shops to load up on bread and butter, with other bits and pieces, for the construction of the mountains of sandwiches needed for what are often loosely described as “just a few friends dropping in.” Among other goods purchased, and not inten-

ded for the sandwiches, were two cakes of soap. All her groceries were put into a cloth bag and off she went. But as she reached her home, she remembered that she should have bought her week-end meat, so she put her cloth bag inside her own gate and returned to the shops. But while she was away the refuse collection gang, an energetic team of extroverts, swiped it. She returned in time to see them trundling down the road, so set off in hot pursuit, and closed the gap sufficiently to see another load of garbage descend on to her cloth bag.

Her negotiations were brief, and largely unproductive. One of the crew, with a broad smile, produced one cake of soap. And that was the end of the salvage operations. So it was off to the shops again, somewhat breathless, and feeling the need to explain why she was back for repeat orders of the goods she had bought earlier. And she is convinced that the shopkeepers and other shoppers must feel that the truth of the matter must be in the probability of her having started her Christmas party some time before the arrival of her guests.